LONDON Ñ The United States and Britain are taking steps to ensure logistical support in the Persian Gulf for any military
campaign against Iraq.
Gulf defense sources said the two countries are seeking facilities for
fuel and water as well as ports for warships in Gulf Cooperation
Council states, Middle East Newsline reported.
The United States has been building its supply stockpile, the
sources said. They said the U.S. Central Command's logistics unit, based in
Kuwait, has been ordering what the sources term vast quantities of aviation
fuel and mineral water.
The sources said Oman and Qatar have become the key areas of supplies
and logistics for U.S. and British forces. But they said other countries are
being approached as well including Saudi Arabia, regarded as the most
ardent GCC opponent of a U.S. attack on Baghdad.
[On Wednesday, the London-based Al Hayat daily quoted witnesses as
saying the United States is completing a project to refurbish an abandoned
military air base in northern Iraq. The newspaper said trucks from the
Turkish border have been transporting everything from metal and cement to
radar components over a 60-day period.]
So far, Saudi Arabia has refused repeated U.S. requests to allow for the
deployment of up to 50,000 troops as well as the use of the kingdom's air
bases as launching pads for an attack on the regime of President Saddam
Hussein. But the sources said Saudi Arabia could allow France or Britain
naval facilities.
A U.S. defense delegation is expected to begin a Gulf tour later this
month. The delegation will consist of officials from the Defense Department
and State Department and will seek financial assistance from the GCC for the
war against Iraq as well as logistics assistance from Gulf Arab states.
Bahrain and Qatar have been asked to store U.S. ammunition and other
supplies. In addition, the sheikdom is said to have been asked to host
thousands of U.S. troops as well as store ammunition.
The London-based Al-Quds Al Arabi daily said the U.S. purchases are
taking place in Saudi Arabia. The newspaper said the goal is for the U.S.
military to have enough supplies and fuel for several months of operations.
Britain has sought to obtain Saudi support for naval facilities, the
sources said. A British delegation has been sent to the Gulf for talks with
Kuwait and the Saudi kingdom. The sources said London has asked Riyad for
additional port facilities to facilitate the deployment of an aircraft
carrier to the region.
